Private sector bidders line up to win MoD outsourcing contracts

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SUPPORT services firm Serco is in the running to win two key contracts at the Ministry of Defence.

The group is believed to be battling IBM for the contract to manage back office services, such as human resources and finance, for the department. It is also thought to be up against Capita for the right to run the army’s recruitment business.

It comes nearly a year after the MoD said it plans to cut 25,000 civilian posts. The department is also under pressure to reform after a series of defence procurement fiascos. Chief of defence materiel Bernard Gray has said private sector skills could lead to a “cultural and managerial shift” but his plans have been described by some as a “part-privatisation”.

Serco, which declined to comment, holds a series of public sector contracts including work at the MoD and on Transport for London’s Barclays Cycle Hire scheme.

The MoD said it would not “speculate on decisions before they have been announced”.